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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Brother's son

210 replies

chickinlikin · 25/02/2018 11:28

I've name changed for this but I would just like some outside perspective. My brother died last year. He had a son from whom he was mostly estranged, mostly because he didn't make the effort. His relationship with the mother didn't last long. I always bought presents for the son and gave them to my brother but in the end I stopped because I wasn't sure if they were actually getting sent on. Anyway before he died (very suddenly and unexpectedly) he had been trying to get in contact with his son. Sadly it wasn't to be. I messaged the boy's mum through facebook and told her what had happened and also said there was a policy which the insurance company wanted to pay out to the child. She kept sending messages to see if I had made contact with the insurance company and passed on her details - I did this more or less straight away but I was kind of all over the place. Anyway, she got the money and hasn't been back in touch. It is the boy's birthday soon and I asked if it would be ok to send a gift but I would understand if she thought this was a bad idea. Anyway I can see she has read my message and not responded. What are your thoughts? I think the boy must know all about his dad because they had been planning to meet up before he died. AIBU sending a present? I wasn't looking to make contact with the boy directly unless he wanted to.

OP posts:
DeathStare · 26/02/2018 08:15

OP stop blaming everyone else for misconstruing things. Look back through what you have actually said. You have said I didn't judge her and For all of you who think I am slagging off my Nephew's mum - the truth is you ARE judging her and you ARE slagging her off. Look at the things you have said about her - all of them completely irrelevant to the question as to whether you should send your nephew a card/gift, and many of them based on no evidence whatsoever.

she doesn't work and from I can see neither does the husband. I suspect she is also claiming single parent benefits because she has never changed her name or disclosed that he lives at her address

I have no ill feeling towards the girl at all but she was asking an awful lot of questions about my brother's financial situation and whether he still owned a property

Once she got the insurance payout her and her husband and the rest of the family went about 3 holidays last year

She must be extremely bitter

She isn't the saint some of you are making her out to be

the insurance money has been spent on holidays. I just feel that money should have been put in a fund for the benefit of the boy when he gets older

she was messaging me constantly chasing me for the payout

I could put this all to the test and send her another message offering to pay say £100 into her bank account or set up a monthly direct debit and I bet she would come back to me quick enough

I may well be unfairly judging my Nephew's mum but it does stick in the throat a wee bit that she has hardly ever worked in her entire life but can afford three holidays a year, various weekends away and lots of meals out

She wasn't working prior to having children or was only very briefly employed

I really do believe she was being grabby

I'm probably just jealous because she doesn't have to work and has a good lifestyle. I go quite a few holidays as well but work very hard for my money

people who cheat the benefit system? I suspect that is happening here

They are YOUR words. How can you read through those and think that you aren't judging her or slagging her off? All you actually know about your nephew's mother is that she raised him for 14 years with minimal input from his father (either financially or emotionally) and no input from his father's family (who could have stepped up and had their own relationship with their nephew/grandson if they had wished). You have no contact with her, no relationship with her, no real knowledge of what her life is like now, and yet you are choosing to judge her, to assume the worst about her and to slag her off.

You also say I didn't hold a grudge by the way yet you cite these incidents from back when you did know her:
her and her mother were slagging me off

She was meant to come to see us and bring the baby and I had offered to babysit for a while so that her and my brother could go and have some lunch in peace but she called off at the last minute after I had arranged to take time off work

She got very drunk and was vile to me

Again none of these are even slightly relevant to whether you should send your nephew a card/present or not. And they don't half sound like holding a grudge.

Honestly OP read through what you have said and think about your attitude towards your nephew's mum.

chickinlikin · 26/02/2018 19:00

DeathStare hell's teeth you must have spent some amount of time going through every comment and picking these out. They have not been used in context and sound worse as stand alone comments. I don't know why any of it bothers you so much. I mentioned I tried to keep in touch and sent presents - I had no idea where she lived and she changed her phone number - tell me what you would have done differently in my circumstances? I did take my brother to the court when he went for access and would have loved a relationship with my Nephew. I've admitted my brother's failings - he wasn't a brilliant father but we were very close. Would you go behind your sibling's back and make contact with his son's family when he wasn't making an effort? I doubt I would have been welcomed with open arms. To be fair I have never moved and she knows exactly where I stay - in fact she sent me pictures once after one present I sent which she must have received, for which I was very grateful. To be honest I've been pasted on her within an inch of my life and feel I should just leave well alone. I was only trying to make a nice gesture - I have enough going on in my life and wasn't trying to fill a gap or anything.

OP posts:
chickinlikin · 26/02/2018 19:02

DalekDalekDalek how can you have a disability your parents don't know about? Bit strange!

OP posts:
DalekDalekDalek · 26/02/2018 19:24

Because I was diagnosed with it after I left home. I don't tell people about it and it's not obvious to others. Disability isn't all wheelchairs and blindness you know!
I've tried to help you with the comments I've made but really you seem very opinionated about other peoples lives.

JustHereForThePooStories · 26/02/2018 20:54

DalekDalekDalek how can you have a disability your parents don't know about? Bit strange!

How rude! I don’t think you’re exactly in a position to judge what’s kept confidential within someone else’s family.

Graphista · 26/02/2018 21:49

Agree - BOTH posts were rude. I for one can totally understand nephews mothers reluctance to communicate.

DalekDalekDalek · 26/02/2018 22:00

Would you go behind your sibling's back and make contact with his son's family when he wasn't making an effort?

Yes I absolutely would. You needn't have gone behind his back. You could have told him what you were doing.

MistressDeeCee · 26/02/2018 22:24

To be honest OP I'm shocked at you being so disparaging about this woman when your brother did fuck all to support his own child emotionally and financially. I think it's best you leave them alone.

I can understand you wanting some contact with your nephew, especially as your brother isn't here now. It must be upsetting. But you're callous in respect of your nephew's mother, who raised her child without the dad's help. You seem to think buying her stuff here and there makes her beholden to you. It doesn't. Maybe you remind her of the man who wasn't there for his son. Leave her alone, and trust that one day your nephew will seek you out.

Chickinlikin · 10/03/2018 09:07

For all the posters who gave me good advice on here, thank you very much. The others who flamed me within an inch of my life, you weren't entirely helpful. Anyway as an updated I messaged my DN mum again and said that I had noticed she had read my message and not responded. I also said that I in no way wanted to disrupt my DN's life but just wanted to let him know that if ever wants to get in touch or find out more about his dad or our side of the family I will always be here. I told her that I think about DN a lot and that he seems like a happy, talented and well adjusted child. I have had nothing backs so there's not much I can do. For all of you said I hadn't bothered for years that is simply not true and you look back the posts you will see why. I would love a relationship with my Nephew but I don't see it ever happening.

OP posts:
SeaEagleFeather · 10/03/2018 11:26

chickin, you did the right thing. I really hope that she will at least let him know.

This is such a very tricky situation, if you need to post again maybe put the posts in Relationships. AIBU needs a health warning for anything sensitive.

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